Criminal Law 1 Case Digest: U.S. v. Ah Sing

·Ah Sing is
a firemen at the steamship Shun Chang, a foreign vessel which arrived in the port
of Cebu from Saigon.

oHe bought 8 cans of opium in
Saigon, brought them on board and had them in his possession during the trip.

oThe 8 cans of opium were found
in the ashes below the boiler of the steamer's engine by authorities who made a
search upon anchoring on the Cebu port.

oAh Sing
confessed that it was his and that it was bought in Saigon without stating his
intention.

·CFI of Cebu: Ah Sing guilty in violation of the Opium Law

ISSUE: W/N the crime of illegal importation of opium
into the Philippine Islands is criminally liable in the Philippines

HELD: Ah Sing having been proved guilty beyond a
reasonable doubt

YES.

·As applied to the Opium Law,
we expressly hold that any person unlawfully imports or brings any prohibited
drug into the Philippine Islands, when the prohibited drug is found under this
person's control on a vessel which has come direct from a foreign country and
is within the jurisdictional limits of the Philippine Islands.

·In such case, a person
is guilty of illegal importation of the drug unless contrary circumstances
exist or the defense proves otherwise.

oApplied to the facts herein,
it would be absurb to think that the accused was merely carrying opium back and
forth between Saigon and Cebu for the mere pleasure of so doing. It would
likewise be impossible to conceive that the accused needed so large an amount
of opium for his personal use. No better explanation being possible, the
logical deduction is that the defendant intended this opium to be brought into
the Philippine Islands

·To anticipate any possible
misunderstanding, let it be said that these statements do not relate to foreign
vessels in transit, a situation not present.